House fire in Wednesbury - three people taken to hospital with potentially life threatening injuries

Fire crews are battling a blaze at a house in Wednesbury on Holyhead Road this morning (Sunday, May 11).

West Midlands Fire Service issued an update about the fire at around 4am, urging people to ‘avoid the area, where possible’.

Crews from Bilston, Wednesbury and Tipton are in attendance, WMFS said.

West Midlands Police also attended the incident and said that three people have been taken to hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. They are a man and a woman in their 80s and a third man in his 50s.

A spokesperson for WMP said: "We were called following a fire at an address on Holyhead Road, Wednesbury at around 3.15am this morning. A man and a woman in their 80s and a third man in his 50s have been taken to hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. We are working alongside fire service investigators to establish the cause of the blaze."

It is the third house fire this weekend, following a double house fire in Bilston yesterday in which a man aged in his 70s died. There was another blaze in Kingswinford yesterday evening.

WMFS also assisted National Highways West Midlands in dealing with a vehicle fire on the M6 between J6 & 7 northbound between Birmingham and Great Barr at around 6am.

Our reporter has attended the scene in Wednesbury at around 9.30am where officers from both West Midlands Fire Service and West Midlands Police remain at the scene in Holyhead Road off the Patent Shaft Roundabout.

Neighbours dialled 999 after hearing a loud bang at about 3am.

The wrecked two-storey house is situated in the middle of a terrace known as the Monway Buildings.It is a scene of devastation with blackened walls and a fire damaged front doorway and first floor window is visible from the street. A police officer is standing outside at the front as the fire investigation team  carry out their checks.

Holyhead Road neighbour Carl Holmes, aged 44  and a carer, said: "I was upstairs in bed watching the WWE Blacklash wrestling on Netflix when I heard a big bang outside and saw a flash from the window as my curtains were open. 

"I got up and went into the  bedroom overlooking the front garden and I could see the shrubs in next door's garden on fire.

"The flames were low near the roots,but by the time I ran downstairs and opened our front door the flames had spread further up the bush which is quite tall and level with the upstairs windows.  

"I dialled 999 straight away. A fire engine came quickly followed by two more along with three ambulances.

"The firefighters smashed the door in. They carried out the elderly couple first and their son who lives with them walked out."The emergency people used water from a bottle to sprinkle on one of them."At this point some of the other neighbours came outside to see what was happening and I told them what I saw. The investigators have been to see me this morning."

Here are some more updates from the scene from Chief Reporter Deborah Hardiman:

We will bring you more updates as we get them.

In Bilston, police and fire investigations crews remain at the scene of the two house fires which began yesterday (Saturday, May 10) on Marbury Drive adn Lunt Place.

Read our story about the tragic double house fire in Bilston here: Bilston house fires: Man aged in his 70s dies in double house blaze incident - police probe underway 

Read our story about the waste fire in Kingstanding here: ‘Avoid this part of Kingswinford’: Fire service plea to residents

Read our story about the M6 vehicle fire from earlier this morning here: M6 delays: Vehicle catches fire after collision between Junction 6 & 7 between Birmingham and Great Barr